Here’s everything you need to know about the to-be Principal of Alpha Tauri F1 team Laurent Mekies’ – what is his nationality?
Laurent Mekies is a French motorsport engineer and executive. He began his career in motorsport as an engineer. He worked for several years in the automotive industry before joining the Renault Formula One team in 2001.
Mekies initially worked as a vehicle performance engineer at Renault. He gradually took on more responsibilities and became the Head of Vehicle Performance Group. In 2012, Mekies moved to the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team (now AlphaTauri) and became their Chief Engineer.
In 2014, Mekies left Toro Rosso to join the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body for motorsport. He initially served as the Deputy Race Director and Safety Director. Mekies played a crucial role in enhancing safety standards in Formula One and other motorsport disciplines.
He worked on the development and implementation of safety regulations and initiatives. In late 2018, it was announced that Mekies would leave the FIA and join the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team. He took on the role of Sporting Director, responsible for overseeing the team’s sporting activities, including race strategy, operations, and logistics. He is associated with Ferrari F1 team till date.
When is Laurent Mekies set to become the principal of AlphaTauri F1 team?
Laurent Mekies will become the principal of the Alpha Tauri F1 team at the end of the 2023 season. He will make his final appearance on the Ferrari pit wall at the Hungarian Grand Prix. It is the penultimate race before F1’s traditional summer break. Mekies will spend some months on gardening leave ahead of taking up his new position at AlphaTauri. Mekies previously worked for AlphaTauri in their previous Toro Rosso guise as a chief engineer before leaving to join the FIA in 2014.
Mekies is likely to be replaced by Diego Ioverno unless there is any drastic change before the end of the season. Ioverno has carved out an impressive reputation for himself at Ferrari and has been credited with the team’s improvement in pit stops in 2023.
Ioverno is currently working closely with Mekies at Ferrari F1 team and will be ready to takeover once the Frenchman departs for Alpha Tauri. However, Ferrari has lined up one more replacement as well and it remains to be seen how things eventually turn out.
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